Yeah, We'll Be Good
by R-O-T-B-T-D16
Summary: This is going to be a collection of Bethyl shorts. Be warned, some are longer than others. (mostly fluff but rated M for language and for possible smut in the future)
1. Yeah, We'll Be Good

That evening was cold, but the grass was warm where he sat. It was the beginning of winter, and he could see his breath gently spiral into the unusually calm air.

Honestly, he didn't know what he was doing there, or why. He felt the way he always did when he came even a step into the field where the wooden cross, the one that he had tied together with Maggie, stood. Seeing it made him want to scream, and kick, and fight like some stupid, bratty kid. It made him want to run until he couldn't anymore, but even with an ache to flee itching at his entire body, he sat there, almost unmoving.

Suddenly, his words spilled out, and he moved his eyes to the ground. "You know I ain't much for prayin'," he began, rubbing one palm over his hand, feeling the bones of his knuckles and the cuts that had etched themselves into the flesh there. "I ain't sure if there's any God. M' pretty sure there ain't… But- But maybe there's a Heaven. I'd like to think that, ya' know? Like to think that you're up there, in some golden palace… Singin' whatever it was you were singin' then."

He swallowed down a sob and his head hung low, trying to fight the overwhelming amount of emotion that threatened to take over. The tears had started coming, and he felt like he was bleeding his sorrow. Not that the feeling went away. There was tons more sadness where that came from.

"You know I ain't any good at talkin', Girl… M' sorry for that," he continued, his lungs and aching heart begging for a cigarette, but he thought better of it. He felt like if he lit one up now, it would be disrespecting her spirit, or some shit like that. "I ain't good at most things really. But you… You were good, Girl. Better-" He took in a shaky breath. "Better than I ever expected to see in this damned to hell world. I guess I just came to say… I think I wanna leave this place, Beth."

He could practically feel her disapproving gaze on him, and his eyes roamed the frozen grass. He began to pick at the blades, plucking them from their root and tossing them aside.

"I know it ain't fair... But… But I don't know how much more I can take," he said. His words broke as his shoulders hunched, the sobs rolling through him endlessly. "I wanna be with you, with Sophia, with Merle… With my Mom…" He shook his head roughly, his gaze snapping up to the homemade cross. "There's… There's gotta be something better than this. Beth-"

He heard a gentle voice shushing him, and slender arms wrap around his waist, the soft warmth of another body pressing into his back.

"You can't leave em' Daryl." Beth's voice breezed across his neck, and he tilted his head back instinctively.

This had happened before, seeing her, being able to feel her, especially in dreams. He could feel her dainty arms wrap strongly around the waist as his emotions bubbled over, and he shattered, just like that day with the Moonshine cabin, and he would wake up feeling like the broken half of a miracle. More often though, he would hear her sweet melodies echoing inside his head. Sometimes lulling him to sleep, generally during the night when he felt the most on edge.

But this was different.

It was as if her arms were there, holding him together as he fell apart. He could feel her small frame and her warm breath. He knew he was hallucinating, but it felt so real, so he let himself get lost in it for a moment.

"I don't know If I can stay either, Beth," he whispered. "Is'all just too much. We're broken. We ain't the same as we was before."

"Daryl, that just proves my point," she said, her tone soft, and soothing. "You gotta be there for em'. Fer Rick, Carl, and Carol… Fer Maggie."

He stiffened at her sisters name, another sob coming with the foaming heat of guilt. "I can't-"

"You can, Daryl," Beth replied, her tone stronger than he'd expected.

Her strength made him feel so weak, but so strong at the same time.

"We all got jobs to do, Daryl. You know that," she said, the gentleness in her words slowly returning.

"I know…" he replied softly.

There was a moment of silence as he just let himself feel her. Let the relief and joy of being in her presence warm his being, even if it was all in his mind.

Her arms tightened around him suddenly, and he brought his hand up to squeeze her forearm. Then she took a deep breath, her song filling his ears and swirling hope into his soul.

_"Hold on… Hold on… You gotta hold on. Take my hand… I'm standing right here you gotta hold on…"_

The song made his body prick with sadness, but soothed him at the same time, making him feel like maybe… Even for just a little while... That they could be good.

"Daryl?"

Rick's voice knocked him back into reality, and his head snapped towards the former sheriff as Beth's warmth left a loneliness in it's sudden absence.

"Yeah?" he called back, quickly swallowing down the obvious ache and messy sadness that had filled his voice and wiping at his tear streaked face.

"You said earlier that you were gonna go on a hunt soon, I was just wonderin' if I could come with," Rick said, walking up to him.

Daryl nodded and said, "Sure."

If the former Sheriff noticed the tears in Daryl's eyes and the sadness that seemed to consume him, he said nothing, and Daryl was thankful for that.

Rick began walking back towards the group, and Daryl watched him go. Daryl turned his gaze to the dinky cross and gave the object a long stare.

Thoughts of all his friends, his family, dying because he was too much of a pussy to stick around filled his mind. He knew Beth was right, he couldn't leave, it wasn't his time. He wasn't alone. Not yet. Not as long as the rest of his family was still alive.

He hung his head, smirking a bit. Even in death, Beth was persistent... And right. "Alright Beth, you win, Girl," he said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

Then he stood up, following Rick's path back towards the treeline. As he went, that blonde angel's sweet voice slipped into his mind and filling his ears like he was watching her pretty head at that piano again. He hummed along to the song, still missing her, but feeling a little lighter than before.

_"And we'll buy… A beer to shotgun… And we'll lay in the lawn... And we'll be good."_

**_Yeah, we'll be good._**


	2. His Redemption

_Okay, so this short is an AU where Beth did die at the Hospital but it took the group much longer to find her. However, she didn't die until after giving birth to she and Daryl's daughter, Anette Dixon, who Beth named after her mother._

* * *

Daryl watched Anette closely as she played by the treeline, her blonde whisps of hair blowing in the hot Georgia breeze as she picked flowers with her small hands.

She was close by, maybe a few feet away, and there were other people around, but it felt like too much of a distance for Daryl. He gathered up his things, which were his crossbow and a picnic basket, and moved closer to her. She looked up at him when he came over, her wide blue eyes sparkling as she held out a small boquet of wild flowers.

"Here!" she said, smiling.

"Fer' me?" he asked, kneeling down and taking the small bundle of plants. She nodded vigorously. One dropped to the ground and she was quick to pick it up, offering the single Buttercup to him. He took it and tucked it in with the others. "Thank you, Darlin'."

Anette had turned three this year, and for Daryl, it was hard to believe it had been that long since Beth's passing. Time went by quicker with Anette around, which he had mixed feelings about. It allowed him a distraction from the pain that still plagued him, but it also meant that Anette was getting older quicker, or, it seemed that way at least. Not that it was a bad thing that she she didn't call walkers with her wailing every couple hours anymore, but surprisingly, he found he missed her being a baby.

Anette didn't like to be carried around as much anymore. She liked to walk around with everyone else, most of the time right alongside Judith, and sometimes it was physically painful for Daryl to have her just walk around. He was so terribly afraid something would happen to her that it hurt his already broken soul.

She was what had kept him going after Beth died. After the only light he had ever known in this sinner ridden, Walker covered, God awful world, had been blown out to smoke.

He had carried her out of that hospital like a dead man walking, Tyrese and Carol carrying Anette just behind him.

He had lost so many people before then, namely Sophia and Merle were the deaths that had caused him the most pain, but what he had felt when Beth died wasn't just pain. It was this awful sense that he had lost himself, and everything he had been fighting for.

Then Maggie, after clinging to the child once Beth's body was buried, handed small, pink, and helpless Anette to Daryl, and he broke down once more.

That little girl was so beautiful, he couldn't help but nuzzle her small face and pet the small tufts of bright blonde hair on her head, sobbing and rocking her gently. He vowed to protect her as soon as he laid his sorrow filled eyes on her small form. For Beth, for Hershel, for Maggie, and for him. If he couldn't protect his own little girl, then he wasn't worth all the trouble and time that spunky blonde had ever put into him. If he couldn't protect her, than he was just as he had been before. Nobody. Nothin'.

But here she was. Safe and sound and beautiful, and looking more like her mother every day, which was both a blessing and a curse.

She had Judith and Carl to play with, although Carl usually wasn't interested in the kinds of games the girls wanted to play.

She had her Aunt Maggie and Uncle Glenn, who both loved her with all of their hearts.

She had Rick, who almost acted like a second father figure, and Carol, who had been an incredible friend to have with little Anette around. Most of the time though, he really didn't like handing her off to other people. He liked to be the one to take care of her.

But he wondered briefly, when she would start asking about her mother. Judith had already started, and he could see the pain it caused Rick and Carl, the younger Grimes more willing to give the little girl answers than his father was..

He wondered, as he followed Anette's small form through the pasture of their temporary camp, if he would be ready when she wanted to know about Beth. About their time together.

It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her, it was the exact opposite actually, but like Rick, it was so hard for him to even think about it sometimes. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell her about the Moonshine cabin, or the fact that he had fallen in love with her because she had called bullshit on everything he was doing. Because she saw right through him into his very soul. He hoped Maggie would be able to help if she asked about when Beth was younger. About what she was like before the whole world decided to go to shit.

He felt someone give him a gentle nudge and he looked over to see Maggie smiling at him. Speak of the devil.

He eyed her suspiciously. "What chu' want Greene?" he asked.

"You're doin' good Daryl," Maggie said, her eyes moving to the little girl who had stopped to watch a butterfly as it perched on a purple flower. "With her… With everythin'. You surprised a lot of us, ya' know?"

"What? That I knocked up yer' sister?" he asked.

She scoffed. "Well, yeah, that, but that's not what I meant and you know it."

Daryl straightened his shoulders, watching Anette carefully. "If it ain't that, then I don't know what ya' mean."

"I can see why she picked you," Maggie said.

Daryl looked over at her, surprised, but was careful not to show it. "You sure you mean that, Greene?" he asked. "Not like we got too many options I guess, especially not durin' the time Beth and I were together, but even then, still don't get why she liked me."

Maggie patted his shoulder. "Because you love her," she said. "And her," she continued, gesturing towards little Anette, who had moved on to some other supposedly incredible thing.

Daryl tried not to let her use of the present tense get to him. Was it really that obvious that he couldn't get over Beth Greene?

"Yeah, whateva'," he said softly, reaching forwards to scoop Anette in his arms before she got herself tangled in some thistles.

Maggie just shook her head. "Say what you like, but I know what's underneath yer' bad boy exterior," Maggie teased, smiling.

Daryl raised an eyebrow. "'Nd what's that, Greene?"

Maggie's smile suddenly turned soft yet serious at the same time. "A fallen angel that's found redemption in the little things." Her eyes moved to Anette, who was happily playing with the strap to his crossbow. "And he hasn't even realized it yet."

With that, Maggie Greene walked away, over to where Glenn sat with Rick and Abraham, probably discussing which direction they should go next, or how they should get supplies.

He looked down at the little girl in his arms, who looked right back at him and smiled, saying "Daddy," over and over as she bounced up and down as much as she could in his arms.

He watched her and smiled a bit, knowing that Maggie was right. He shook his head.

"Why're all Greene girls such a pain in the-" he looked down at Anette, who was watching him intently, his own eye color staring back at him. He smiled and kissed her forehead gently, tucking one of the flowers she gave him behind her ear.

This little girl truly was his redemption.


	3. Heaven

Daryl didn't recognize it at first, it's paint almost completely peeled off by weather and Walkers, the grass heavily overgrown and the memory of it almost too distant to recall, but as soon as they were close enough to really take in the homes' appearance and the grave stones scattered around, the realization hit him hard. Anette ran up to it when she saw the building, her fine, corn-colored hair swinging in it's braided ponytail, and he let her go on ahead, knowing that she was as good with her machete as he was with his crossbow, and that she probably wouldn't have stopped running even if he told her to stop anyway. So he just followed behind, the closer he came to it's heavy remembrance the greater his regret becoming.

He never would've even thought that they would come across this place. The place where he held so many bittersweet memories of Her. His love.

He watched Anette pry her way in, knowing that if she wanted help, she'd ask for it. It took her a minute, but eventually her sweet face beamed. Before she tried to open it, she knocked loudly on the door, both of them standing perfectly still as they waited for any sign of Walkers. When there was none, she opened the door with a heavy tug and It creaked as it opened. She smiled back at her father, who gave her a nod and smirk of approval.

"Think we'll find somethin' good, Daddy?" she asked, stepping through the doorway.

"Dunno," he said, thinking about the last time he had been there. With her mother. "Wasn't much last time."

She turned around, her eyebrows furrowing. "Last time?" she asked.

He nodded. "'Member that place I told ya' about? Where yer' Mama and I stayed?" His hand gently traced the small table beside the door.

Her eyes widened. "This is the funeral home?" she asked, only needing confirmation, her eyes alight. "This is where you fell in love?"

Daryl smirked. "More like where we realized we… Cared about each other. Was more than love, Darlin', it was somethin' neither of us could put a name to." Not that they'd had the time to put a name to anything in the first place. Not that there was any rooms for names in such a cruel, unforgiving world.

"Maggie says you were soulmates," Anette said, smiling. "That ay'm a baby born of true love."

The archer shook his head, wondering what kinds of things Maggie had been telling Anette about a connection the brunette knew nothing about in the end. Daryl decided to clarify any misconceptions his daughter had about her parents relationship. "Kindred spirits, more like," he said softly. "She got me. Understood me. Caught me off guard too. She was strong, your Mama."

They had moved into the room with the casket he had lain in seventeen years ago, the piano across the room dusty, but in tact.

He felt a sudden shiver of a memory, where he was watching her play from the doorway, thinking to himself that she might be the last person he would ever see. He remembered being sad about the others, but also being almost unsettlingly at ease with Beth being that last person.

"On one of the first nights," Daryl said, feeling his throat get tight. "She played some song on th' piano, 'nd sang." Daryl chuckled a bit. "I told 'er that I wanted her to keep singin' cause there wasn't no Jukebox... I was stupid."

"Still are," Anette said, earning even more of a laugh from her father.

They stood there a minute, Daryl feeling as though she was still only a few feet away, her head moving as she tried to remember how to play, and her voice moving softly around the room. Anette was trying to feel whatever remained of her mother's spirit, hoping maybe that it could give her an actual image in her mind of what her mother had looked like.

"Do I look like 'er?" Anette asked suddenly, earning Daryl's undivided attention.

He smiled a bit. "More than you know, Baby girl."

"I mean, I know I got yer' nose, and yer' eye color…" Anette continued. "Maggie says I got my Mama's hair, and 'course I believe her. I mean, s'not like ay'm a brunette like you." She fiddled with a lock of her hair, her eyes wandering the floor boards.

"Yer' face shape is'almost identical ta' hers," he said, putting an arm around his daughter and giving her a scruffy kiss on the side of her head. "She'd've loved to know that, too."

Anette took a deep breath, exhaling loudly. "Ya' never know Daddy… Maybe she does."

Daryl stiffened at his daughter's words, the concept of Heaven seeming so far fetched with everything he had seen, and everything he had done. Yet somehow, the thought of Beth watching over them, looking down at the beautiful, smart, brave, and incredibly strong girl she had given birth to all those years ago, warmed his heart.

"Yeah," he said softly, squeezing Anette's shoulders lightly. "Maybe."

When they left the funeral home, what little they had found tucked away in their backpacks, they walked back through the graveyard.

Anette stopped suddenly, her eyes fixed on a grave, and Daryl felt a strange sense of Deja Vu.

"What is it Darlin'?" Walking back over to stand beside his daughter. His heart stopped when his eyes locked onto the words on the grave, _Beloved Mother and Sister_.

He felt a sting as if pieces of the grave itself had broke off and poked into his skin.

Anette scanned the surrounding area, finding some yellow and some blue flowers, picking them carefully before setting them on top of the grave, just like he had done in honor of Hershel all those years ago.

"Love you Mama," she whispered, moving back to stand beside her father, who felt so much pride that this amazing girl was his child.

He looked back to the grave, pulling his daughter into a warm side hug, feeling her shoulders shaking beneath his arm. "Love ya' Beth," he whispered.

If there really was anything or anyone up there, he knew that that was where Beth would go.

He had decided long ago that if anyone belonged in Heaven, it was the angel that had stood strong beside him, even when he lost his temper… Even when he had called her awful names, and yelled and screamed things he didn't mean. She had put up with so much, given him all she had, an he had tried so hard to give as much as he could back, but he had never felt like it was enough. But hadn't seemed to mind.

She saw him for all that he had been, and all that he was, and she stuck around anyway. She _loved _him anyway. Which was something he'd never thought he deserved.

And then she had given him the beautiful gift of their daughter, and he felt like the luckiest man to walk the earth, but seeing both of them had been so short lived.

He was given one gift, only to have another taken away.

So yes, in Daryl's eyes, if anyone belonged in Heaven, it was Beth Greene.


	4. Back To You

**_Hello Darlings! This was inspired by the song Back To You by Twin Forks, cause it totally reminds me of our favorite ship. This is just a little Bethyl fluff in a normal world AU. Daryl and Beth got into a fight and she left their apartment, Daryl feels remorse and goes out looking for her. R&amp;R please, and of course, enjoy! :3_**

* * *

_I was young, _

_So I forgot... _

_Which was my place,_

_And which was not._

_Thought I had a good shot~_

_I took it,_

_Right in my eye. _

He had really screwed up this time.

He saw it in her eyes, in her tight lipped expression, in the way her shoulders tensed as she glared at him, and stormed out of their apartment.

But that was the plan… Wasn't it?

Get her mad. So incredibly mad that she would never want to see him again. She's better off without him anyway, as far as he's concerned. However, he didn't take into account how much _he _needed _her. _How much it would hurt him when that look of absolute shock and hurt, mixed with undeniable anger, took hold of her angelic features. When she slammed that door, and didn't come back for days.

It had almost been a week, and Daryl couldn't take it anymore.

Not being near her, not knowing whether she was safe or not, not being able to apologize, it killed him a little more with every minute that passed. He wasn't even sure if apologizing would do any good. He had said some awful things. Worse than awful actually, but honestly, there was a part of him that hoped that she would come right back at him just as she had done before. But he guessed she had to draw the line somewhere.

He got up from his couch, pulling on his working boots and sliding into his leather jacket and practically running to his beat up pick up truck.

He hadn't meant a word of it, and she needed to know that.

_Look ahead,_

_Look behind..._

_Take another,_

_I don't mind~_

_I~_

_Oh~_

_I~_

_Oh~_

He drove first to see Maggie Greene, who told him off right away for hurting her sister. He let her yell and scream, and then asked her where Beth was. Maggie refused to tell him, but Glenn helped him out, telling him to go to the Grimes' home. If she wasn't there taking care of Judith, Rick might know where she is.

When Daryl got there Rick was standing outside, watching him pull up.

He gave him a disapproving look, but let Daryl explain that he wanted to resolve things. RIck could understand, considering that he and Lori were still working out some bumps in their marital road.

Rick told him that Beth wasn't there. She had looked after Judith the day before yesterday, but he hadn't seen her since. He told him to try the Greene farm, and that he would call if the blonde came by.

With short goodbyes, Daryl was on the road again, driving as fast as he could to the farm. He was sure Hershel would give him a good beating when he showed up, but he deserved it. He had acted like an asshole and deserved any punishment Hershel Greene was planning to dish out.

He pulled up, knocking on the door swiftly.

When Hershel saw it was him, he opened the door, eyeing him suspiciously. "Maggie called, and said you've been looking for Beth."

Daryl tensed, realizing that he should've known Maggie would tell her father. Would warn him that the redneck who made his baby girl cry was looking for her.

"Ay' have… Sir," Daryl said, watching Hershel carefully, fully prepared for a good beating. "Want ta'... Make things right. Hurt 'er pretty bad, 'nd I didn't mean ta'."

Hershel's hard, suspicious expression softened at that. "I know, Boy."

Daryl flinched, the kindness and understanding in his tone almost worse than any wound he could inflict. Hershel Greene, for whatever reason, trusted Daryl with his daughter, even when he hurt her.

"I'm not gonna tell you where she is, but I will say this," Hershel said. "Go ask Carol, she might know."

Daryl nodded, shaking Hershel's hand before running back to his car, his heart pounding as he felt himself coming steadily closer to finding her.

_Follow the si~igns,_

_Right back to you,_

_Back to you!_

_Back to you!_

_I know they wi~ind,_

_Right back to you, _

_Back to you!_

_Back to you!_

When he got to Carol's, the sun setting slowly, he saw her before she saw him.

She was sitting on the porch, her guitar held firmly as she messed around with some chords, her voice travelling over the lawn and into his ears.

"Hey…" he said, causing her to jump, her wide blue eyes jerking to him. He gaze instantly softened with relief, only to spark with anger as soon as she remembered she was supposed to be mad at him.

She stood up, setting her guitar down as she came after him. "You've got a lot of nerve _Dixon_!" she hissed, her eyes willing his head to explode. "Sayin' those things ta' me? And now yer' here."

"Ta' apologize…" he said, hiding behind his bangs.

Her glare only hardened and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Ta' _apologize_? Since when did you start breakin' _Dixon family rules_?" The last words were harsh, and he saw her grit her teeth.

He winced at that, hearing his own screaming declaration echo in his mind; _Dixon's don't apologize. Not to nobody for any reason, and you ain't an exception, Girl!_

Beth's dainty fist hit his chest with surprising strength, followed by a quick shove that made him stumble backwards, and he just let her beat on him for a while, feeling like complete shit for being such a fuckhead.

"The worst part is!" she was full on screaming now, pouring her heart out as the tears pricked at her eyes. "It's all _bullshit _and I know it! _You _know it! You were just trying to get rid of me! You don't think yer' good enough for me! Well, news flash _Dixon_, I get a say in that _too_!" She surprised him, grabbing his shirt collar and pressing an angry kiss to his lips.

He stared at her, his eyes wide. More beatings he had expected, but certainly not a kiss.

She pulled away, showing just as much love in those sky blue orbs as there was anger. "I love you," she said, watching his eyes with her teary gaze. "I love you, and no matter what you say to me, I'll know you don't mean it. No matter how stupid you act, I'll love you anyway."

He enveloped her in his arms, and they both slid down to their knees, him pressing kisses over every inch of her face and whispering his apology between kisses while she squeezed him in a tight hug, forgiving him with answering words of comfort and kisses.

Once Beth had cried herself out, and Daryl felt that he had said enough apologies to last the rest of his life, they climbed into his truck, a sweet smile lifting the corners of Beth's mouth. She waved to Carol, thanking her for letting her stay on her couch, and Daryl to thanked Carol for looking after Beth, giving the woman an appreciative hug before climbing into the driver seat.

He was smiling and even though it was subtle, Carol saw it, and shook her head with a smile of her own gracing her lips, the happiness between them utterly contagious.

Beth turned on the radio, letting the music fill the car.

"_So put a posey in your hair,_

_Act like you couldn't give a care,_

_Whistle past the graveyard!_

_Even the dead, deserve a so~ong~"_

Beth giggled as Daryl took her hand, and she leaned her head on his shoulder, singing along for the next part.

"_Let the moon do what she does,_

_She don't need to make a fuss~_

_She don't know she shines for us…_

_Somethin' tells me that she does~"_

Daryl smiled, that particular verse reminding him of Beth. She showed people light, and hope, and happiness. He wondered sometimes if she knew how much her songs and wise words meant to everyone, especially him. He hoped she did.

She danced sweetly in her seat with the chorus, her eyes lighting up and laughing at the truth in them.

"_Follow the si~igns,_

_Right back to you,_

_Back to you!_

_Back to you!_

_I know they wi~ind,_

_RIght back to you,_

_Back to you!_

_Back to you!"_

Beth laughed, remembering the moment he had given into her constant insisting that he take her on one of his hunting trips. She had been tracking a rabbit, and he had commented after they had been out walking for a while, "We're gettin' close."

She had held up his crossbow, watching the trees and other shrubbery in front of her as she asked, "How do you know?" She remembers the feeling of his eyes on the back of her head, burning with intensity, making her blush at his sudden attention.

"The signs are all there," he had said, coming up close behind her. "You just gotta know how ta' read 'em."

"_Ti~me,_

_After ti~me!_

_I follow signs._

_I know they wind. _

_RIght back to you,_

_Back to you!"_

**Back to you**


	5. Georgia On My Mind

_**Hello! I've been on hiatus for a bit in case you care or have noticed and were wondering, but here's a little something sweet that I have been working on for a least a few months ( the concept took a while to master) to satisfy any Bethyl needs! This fic is based off of the song 'Georgia' by Vance Joy and just rings with Bethyl feels in my ears :) Anyway, enjoy!**_

* * *

_She~_

_Is something to behold…_

_Elegant and bo~old~_

Daryl watched Beth as she stood on the porch of the funeral home, letting the sunrise bathe her bare skin in it's generous light. Her hair seemed to glow with the brightness of it, a little hum from her lifting lightly in the early morning air.

He adjusted himself on their makeshift bed, pushing the pillow down slightly so he could better see her heavenly beauty.

His mind always seemed to remind him of just how undeserving he was of such goodness in his life. He hadn't deserved it before, and sure as hell didn't now.

He often considered that Beth really didn't have many guys to pick from, so that was probably a reason; but he still didn't understand why it was him she chose even with such slim pickings. There had been someone else before, that Zach kid. It was a shame when they lost him, but what can you do? If you can't survive out there, then you won't. Plain and simple.

Never was he more happy about the miracle survivor that was Beth Greene.

She was right. She wasn't Maggie, she wasn't Carol, she wasn't Michonne… But she made it. She made it, and it made his life better. He looked at her and saw everything he had been looking for since before the dead started walking.

She moved with a bold and elegant stride, ready to take the world on with this amazing amount of hope in her heart. She believed in people, she believed in survival, and, for some reason, she believed in him.

She was Heaven sent.

_She~_

_Is electricity._

_Running to my so~oul~_

She turned around slowly, smiling when she saw he was awake. He lifted up the covers for her, a small smile playing his lips.

She just returned the expression in full, crouching down and crawling over to him, giggling lightly as he wrapped her in their comforter. She snuggled close, moving to lay on top of him, their bodies gently intertwined. After a few moments of comfortable silence, she broke their embrace to sit up, her skin again brightened by the waking sun as the blanket fell from her shoulders.

He reveled in her elegance, running his hands each up their own respective thigh, just absorbing the reality of how soft her skin felt. Softer than silk to him, and it felt good to know that her blood was pumping animately under such gentle flesh. She was real, and very alive.

She leaned down, pressing a soft and sweet kiss to his lips, a twinkling smile lighting up her eyes once they were opened again.

"_And I could easily lose my mind._

_The way you kiss me'll work each time. _

_Callin' me to come back to bed,_

_Singin',_

'_Georgia On My Mind'._

_And I~_

_And I~"_

Beth knew without him saying that Daryl loved her.

She could feel it well enough in gaze, in his gentle touches, and most prominently in the sentiment of his gestures. He loved her, and she felt oh so blessed to have earned something so precious from the archer.

She knew that it took a lot to get him to open up. That it was painful and that he barely broke down his own walls for when he, himself, needed to. It's not like she'd purposefully tried to tear them down, she knew better than that. The agony that was brittle beneath his skin had been too obvious to Beth, and she wasn't about to bring that pain sharply to the surface. Not after they had just lost everything they had built. But in the end, it happened so quickly she wasn't able to stop it. One not very well thought through sentence and his anger spiked, and regret had felt heavy in her gut. Then he broke down right before her eyes and all she could do was embrace him; try to hold him together for both their sakes.

The hug had been what he needed, and Beth was glad that she had been able to help him. Again she had simply done what she felt needed to, and he had seemed happier, lighter since they had burned down the cabin.

Then he told without saying, just as he said most things, that he felt something more than friendship towards her. That deep and meaningful stare warming her to the very core of her being.

So many months had passed since then, and they were still in the Funeral home, only more together, and much closer, than they had ever been with anyone else. Than they both presumed they ever would be.

"_Lips,_

_Generous and warm. _

_You build me up like ste~eps." _

She treasured moments like this. Where she and Daryl could just lay lazily together. Skin against skin, and hearts thumping against their rib cages perfectly offbeat with one anothers. She liked when he looked at her too; the _way _he looked at her. Like she was something precious and lovely. She had wished fondly back before everything that someone would someday look at her like that, and now, she had someone that did. She felt so lucky, the joy was almost painful sometimes.

She looked down at him with all the affection she could muster, sighing as he massaged the muscles of her thighs gently, and he smiled at her. She kissed him again, feeling the generous warmth of his lips and he kissed her back. She was smiling as he kissed her, suddenly pulling away and pressing other little pecks all over her face. This affection was something new to her that she had discovered, and fully enjoyed about Daryl. She guessed that if they were to ever find people again, he wouldn't act so outwardly loving towards her, but she honestly didn't mind. So long as there were little moments like this in private, she would know she was loved.

"_Eyes,_

_Innocent and wild!_

_Remind what it's li~ike…"_

They looked into each other's eyes a long moment, her just smiling at him, unable to keep the expression at bay, and for the hundredth time since they had been left to fend for themselves, Daryl surprised her.

"I love you," he whispered, watching her light blue eyes with his midnight gaze, refusing to look away from her, but not even bothering to hide his shyness. It was a quality she already knew and adored.

Her eyes fluttered as the words filled her ears, her mind and last but not least, her heart.

It had taken so much courage for Daryl to admit that, and she loved him all the more for it. He had just placed his heart completely bare on the table for her to take. Even after everything, this had been a step she had never expected to reach, so for a moment, she just basked in the awe of it. She didn't stay quiet for too long though, knowing how Daryl would interpret her silence.

Once she was done reveling in the afterglow of his brave words, she kissed him deeply, pulling away only to say, "I love you to. I always will."

He nodded slowly, wrapping his arms around her and using one hand to pull her face back to his, kissing her slowly and with as much care and love as he had in him -which he had come to discover was actually a lot-.

He felt oddly liberated by telling her. He had whispered it so many times to her sleeping form, somewhere in the back of his mind hoping, and also dreading, the possibility of her being awake for his confessions -he figured it would be easier to tell her if she just happened to overhear him-. She hadn't seemed surprised, so maybe she _had_ heard him before, but he decided that it didn't matter. She hadn't rejected him, and that was all that mattered. He wasn't sure why he thought she would reject him, even after giving her virginity to him, and telling him flat out that he was the person she trusted most in this world besides her sister. But it had plagued him, the thought of her walking away after he had begun to feel so much that he had needed to for so long.

She loved him back, and the feeling of mutual affection made him dizzy. He kissed her again, taking her breath away, and she giggled, snuggling into his chest, looking just as contented and relaxed as he felt.

"_And I could easily lose my mind…_

_The way you kiss me'll work each time,_

_Pulling me back into the flames,_

_And I'm burnin' up again-_

_I'm burnin' up,_

_And I finally worked it out-_

_I worked it ou~ut…"_


	6. Damn Beautiful Thing

Damn Beautiful Thing

The Walkers had been going by for at least an hour now, and Daryl was getting restless. He was pacing as quietly as he could around he and Beth's makeshift shelter, which was nothing but an oversized shed. He had only had a few minutes to check it out and rig it, and in the end he wasn't satisfied at all.

To Daryl's relief though, and despite the terror outside, Beth was sleeping soundly. The only reason he wasn't was because he knew that sleep was only a temporary escape from the Hell of their lives. Besides, he had to watch over her. He had suffered too much with her being gone, if something happened to her now, again, under his watch, he would never forgive himself. His world would break apart into nothingness.

After all, now they both had something more to protect.

He still cursed himself for not being more careful. He had tried to be, but having her was like all those dreams he had never spoken out loud coming true. He could barely keep his hands off of her when they had first agreed that the affections were mutual, which had resulted in something they couldn't turn their backs to. Because of this, he barely let her out of his sights.

Funny how it took the apocalypse to bring Daryl all the love he had never gotten; that he never felt.

He looked over to her swollen belly, panic flickering through him as one walker rammed into the side of the shed. He held his crossbow up, ready to kill the fucker, and all the rest of them, if that door opened.

Beth jerked awake, her eyes wide as she suddenly made a pained noise, both out of shock and something else.

Daryl was immediately at her side, a strong hand on her shoulder while he watched for movement out of the corner of his eye, asking her what was wrong, if she was alright.

"Daryl," Beth said as quietly as she could, her voice strained in pain. "Daryl, I think it's time."

His eyes widened, looking back momentarily to see if there was anything he could barricade the door up more with, spotting some chords in the corner he hadn't seen before. He tied the door, and, keeping his crossbow nearby just in case, he knelt down, helping her out of her few layers of leggings and then waited for her direction.

She had read, and had forced Daryl to read, a few books they had snagged from a library once she knew she was expecting, hoping to avoid the situation that Lori had ended up in.

So she directed him, breathing as best she could, asking for his rag to silence her cries. The last thing she needed was a bunch of walkers to hear her screaming. Hopefully they'd be gone by the time the baby was out so the poor little thing wouldn't call the undead to kill them.

The next hours went by in a blur, Daryl wishing to dear God that this wouldn't kill them both. Beth looking like she was in excruciating amount of pain, and it made Daryl's heart hurt so bad that he almost couldn't take it. If she didn't need him so desperately in that moment, and if there weren't so many damn walkers outside, he probably would've left the room, maybe cried a little bit, maybe thrown up. It was all so awful.

Eventually, when he could tell if was about time for the baby to be born, he felt her grab his hand which was squeezing her bare knee.

"Daryl," she said in her pain strained voice.

He looked into her eyes and knew what she was going to say. "No," he stated before she could even muster up the strength to tell him the rest. To tell him the risks that he already knew.

"Yes!" she said, suddenly sounding stronger, but also sadder, with tears streaming down her cheeks. "It might happen Daryl! You have to put me down if I turn. Don't let me turn, don't let me hurt you or our baby! Jesus, please don't…" She was sobbing now, the fear and overwhelming agony he felt reflected in her own gaze.

"It ain't gonna happen!" he cried, no longer caring about the damn walkers. Dying from them would be nothing compared to the pain of losing Beth. "It ain't gonna happen! Don't say that!"

All of a sudden she cried out. "I have ta' push!" she hissed. "Daryl!"

He was instantly there, ready to help, ready to hold their baby, but so emotionally unprepared for even the thought of losing Beth.

It was such a short yet such a long amount of time until the baby started crowning, and the beautiful pain of it was almost too much for him. He started crying, grabbing onto Beth's hand, letting her squeeze even when it felt like she was going to break his fingers.

Her cries were again muffled by the rag between her teeth. But then, all of a sudden, as Beth quieted, other cries filled the small space, and Daryl oh-so carefully held up a little squirming, bloody, wailing, yet so beautiful baby girl to the dim light. He found some scissors to cut the umbilical cord, and nearly started crying when he saw Beth's eyes still open. When he saw that she was still alive.

She held her arms weakly up to him and he immediately laid down next to her, handing her their baby and then resting his head on her chest. Her heart was still beating strong, and while she'd lost some blood, it wasn't a crazy amount.

He started crying, telling her how much he loved her, enveloping her in his arms, kissing her face, and then the baby's.

God, he really loved Beth. He loved their baby.

He'd spent less than a minute holding her, knowing her, and he loved her oh-so much… And as her little hand wrapped around the finger of his that was closest to her, he smiled wide. he started laughing, tears still glittering in his eyes, and he looked up at Beth, who had joined him. Her blue eyes sparkled down at him and he maneuvered himself so he could kiss her again.

Then they both turned their gazes towards their baby, whose eyes were fluttering, and her little nose scrunching. Daryl thought she looked kind of like a baby monkey, but it was cute.

"What do you think of Annette?" Beth asked. "It was my momma's name," she explained.

He smiled. "Lil' Ann, huh?"

Beth smiled too, whispering softly, "Annette Merle Dixon."

Daryl looked up at her at the sound of his brother's name, and gave her the sweetest look she'd ever been given. She smiled back at him, kissing his nose tenderly. He was sure Merle would be kicking and screaming in his grave, pissed off that they made his name a part of his daughters, and not his son's like they had first planned, but Merle could just deal. He should be happy anyone remembered him in a good way at all.

When Daryl looked back towards his baby girl, he knew that as long as he lived, he would protect her, and love her. Just as Hershel had said to Glenn all that time ago, no man would ever be good enough for his Ann. No matter what the world through at her, he would protect her, just like he had promised to do with Beth.

It may not have been his first choice to start a family in the damn apocalypse, but he had to make do with what he had, and he was no fool. What he had was a damn beautiful thing.


	7. Bethy Songs

Okay, so some of you may not care, and if you don't just ignore this, but I really needed to write down all the songs that remind me of Bethyl, and so here they are. If you don't care, just ignore XD the next oneshot will be out soon, I just had to get these out there!

* * *

Elenowen- Honey Come Home

Elenowen- The Storm

The Civil Wars- Devil's Backbone

Christina Perri- Arms

The Civil Wars- Poison and Wine

The Cinematic Orchestra- The Build A Home

Emily Kinney- Be Good (obviously XD)

Emily Kinney- Over Anticipate

Vance Joy- Georgia

Vance Joy- Wasted Time

Kodaline- What It Is

Vance Joy- Mess Is Mine

Sam Palladio and Clare Bowen- Tale as Old as Time

Pocahontas- If I Never Knew You

Tangled- I See The Light

Lisa Miskovsky- Little Bird

James Blunt- Goodbye My Lover

Mat Kearney- Breathe In, Breathe Out

Twin Forks- Back To You

Train- Bulletproof Picasso

Boyce Avenue- I Look To You

Trading Yesterday- She is the Sunlight

Kodaline- Talk

Miley Cyrus- When I Look At You


	8. Sing Me To Sleep

Daryl watched Beth under his bangs from directly across the bonfire, his eyes watched the flames flicker in hers.

The meeting Deanna had set up was coming to a close, so only Rick, Maggie, he, and Beth remained. It had been mostly quiet, but then Beth took in a breath and let out a few sweet lines, her eyes closing lightly as the melody slipped into the near silent space.

The other three turned their attention to the blonde, Maggie taking her hand with a teary eyed smile, Ricks head tilting to attention, and Daryl had barely taken his eyes off of her since she got back anyways.

"_I can't sleep tonight_

_Wide awake and so confused_

_Everything's in line_

_But I am bruised_

_I need a voice to echo_

_I need a light to take me home_

_I kinda need a hero_

_Is it you?"_

Her eyes flickered up to Daryl's, and she went softly silent. They both knew that the last thing she needed, at least survival wise, was a hero. She was more than capable of saving herself out there, but Daryl knew that there was something missing from her. She rarely smiled, was suddenly very withdrawn, maybe even a little bit like him before he'd had the privilege of true family and love, and she was jumpy at best. She was like a cat that had been abandoned, forced to live on her own, and when someone tried to take her home now, the owners would say, "God, now we know why she was on her own…", but she didn't want to be this way, that much he could plainly see. There was something desperate in her eyes, something pained about her expression after the song had faded.

Breaking the silence that had once again settled between the four people, Glenn walked up and placed a hand on Maggie's shoulder. The brunette lifted her own hand up to cover his and smiled at her husband. Then Glenn turned to Rick and said, "Carl wants you."

Nodding, Rick stood, squeezing Beth's shoulder as he passed.

Glenn gave Daryl a pointed look as he squeezed his wife's shoulder and quietly said, "Maggie, why don't you come inside? You're shivering."

Maggie was obviously cold, the winter winds chilling her even with her sister pressed to her side. After a moment of considering what to do, she gave Beth a worried glance, who simply nodded lightly in response, letting her know that she would be fine, and so the elder Greene sister had Glenn help her stand. "Come inside soon, kay?" Maggie said to Beth, kissing the top of her head and giving her a sharp look, though a relieved smile was still lighting her features.

"Kay," Beth replied quietly, watching Maggie walk hand in hand with Glenn down the street.

Beth turned her eyes back to the fire, pulling her jacket tighter around her as her baby blues tried to singe the fire.

"Ya' cold?" Daryl asked, his voice coming out gravely, and so he cleared his throat before continuing. "I can give ya' my jacket…"

Beth looked up at him, those scarred, burning, sapphires catching his cold midnight gaze in a clash between frozen and heated stares that seemed to have them both a little transfixed and startled. She just nodded slowly, and so he got up, shrugging the leather off of his body and draping it over her shoulders, taking a stubborn seat next to her once she was thoroughly nestled in his coat.

After a moment of silence, she glanced at him again. Not saying anything, but then turning to him, a little light of happiness in her eyes. "You're still sweet," she said, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "Probably more so than I remember."

He scoffed in response, watching the flames, almost afraid to look at her, which was absolutely ridiculous considering how much he had kept an eye on her since she got back. Maybe it was because now, she was looking back, or maybe it was because of the sweeping return of that same tension from their last night at the funeral home. Maybe he was just a coward when it came to throwing down with Beth Greene.

After a few very long minutes of Beth just staring at him, his eyes twitched in her direction, and his shoulders shifted under the sudden tight weight of the air. "What?" he asked, his voice a little higher than he had intended, and he nearly flushed in embarrassment.

"Daryl Dixon… Did you miss me?" she asked, earning his full, undivided attention.

He took in a sharp breath, taking in the smooth features of her familiar face, though her edges were now sharpened by the demanding nature of the world, but she was still beautiful. She would always be beautiful, he determined.

He choked on his words, his eyes stinging with the tears that were trying to jab their way out. She took his hand, that burning gaze softening, showing that she was seeing right through his tough exterior, just like before, just like always…

"I missed ya' so bad Beth Greene…" he replied, his words shaky, but audible.

Then Beth smiled a real, big, genuine smile, for the first time since she arrived at Alexandria, her eyes glistening. "Me too, Daryl," she said, her tears bubbling over and sliding down her cheeks. "I missed you so much…"

And then they locked themselves in a tight embrace, her arms around his neck, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He wrapped his arms securely around her, the leather of his jacket still around her shoulders pulling on his skin, but he barely felt it. He was too caught up in the feeling of being surrounded by everything he had been missing, and was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he saw her emerge from the treeline, bloody, beaten, scarred, but still, always, oh so beautiful. No matter what, she would always be his light. Turns out his light is stubborn, and it takes more than a bullet to the head to keep her from shining, and he couldn't be happier.

The sobs he had been trying to hold back, not very well really, spilled forth when she said the most truthful words he had ever heard in his entire life.

"I'm home…"

Yes. She was. And so was he.

He was finally home.

And then she squeezed him tighter, their bodies both shaking with emotion, rocking with the streaming sobs the escaped their lips.

Once they had stopped crying, though they still clung to each other for dear life, he mumbled for her to, "Keep singin'" just like he had that night when she sat at that dusty piano and he lay ominously in that casket. And so she did, pausing for a moment to find a line that fit the moment before she began. Than she took in a breath, just like earlier, and let the words slip from her lips.

"_I know you're there,_

_You could be,_

_My sanity,_

_Bring me to peace,_

_Sing me to sleep…_

_I don't know what I'd do without you_

_Your words are like a whisper come through_

_As long as you are with me here tonight_

_I'm good..."_

As the words whispered into the wind, Daryl slowly drifted off, and Beth wasn't far behind him, both emotionally exhausted. In their sleep, they breathed each other in, held each other close, and fell into a comfortably deep sleep beside the fire, Beth's head against his chest with an arm wrapped around his torso and Daryl had an arm around Beth, his hand clinging to the dip between her ribs and her hip. Both still had red rimmed eyes, but gentle looks on theirs faces, neither dreaming, because their reality was now enough. They had their family, and they had each other.

And that's how Carol and Maggie found them, both women confused to say the least, but finding the soft and loving atmosphere gently pulling their lips into lighthearted smiles as they exchanged a twinkling look, and leaving them be.


End file.
